The Hugh Grant Collection
Hugh Grant is surely the ultimate English leading man - handsome, witty, charming, and posh. Who can resist him, or his movies?
Bridget Jones's Diary He's better when he's bad...here as the caddish but oh-so-shaggable Daniel Cleaver.About a Boy (Widescreen Edition) A fine adaptaption of Nick Hornby's wonderful book, and probably Hugh Grant's best film.
Four Weddings and a Funeral Hugh Grant and friends, an eccentric collection of English characters.
Notting Hill (Collector's Edition) The third star in this fun film is London and its Notting Hill neighborhood.
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain Not England, but its neighbor, Wales.
Love Actually (Widescreen Edition) Hugh Grant as the British prime minister? Why not? This delightful film shows you a slice of the lives and loves of the various characters, most of them living in London, with forays to France and America. Don't forget the Love Actually soundtrack CD, with its exhilarating rendition of "All I Want for Christmas" sung by one of the movie's young stars. Also fun - the Love Actually screenplay by Richard Curtis (the actual screenplay, plus photos and extras.)
Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition) Bridget is back, and so is her perfect boyfriend Mark Darcy...and, oh yes, so is the delightfully dastardly Daniel Cleaver.Jane Austen and Other Literary Favorites
This list could go on endlessly - English literature is a deservedly favorite cinematic source.
Sense and Sensibility (1995) Not my favorite Jane Austen novel, but this wonderful movie made me rethink my position. Brilliant adaptation by Emma Thompson, beautiful countryside and country house settings, and the ever toothsome Hugh Grant.
Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996) Oooh...Mr. Darcy. Hours and hours of Jane Austen's most shaggable protagonist.
Emma (1996) Frothy and fun.
Persuasion (1995) Part of this movie (and of course, Jane Austen's book), is set in the Georgian city of Bath, where Jane Austen lived for a time.
Shakespeare in Love (Miramax Collector's Series) A fanciful look at literary history.
Much Ado About Nothing Shakespearian country house romp...with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, back in the days when they were the "it" English acting couple.
An Ideal Husband Pay close attention to the language in this witty and literate film.
The Importance of Being Earnest Another Wilde confection - with a a suitably clever and toothsome cast, including Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon, and Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth.
Howards End The real love affair in this movie is with a house...so very English.
A Room With A View Bucolic English countryside, plus Italy...what more could you ask?Shadowlands Oxford and its dreaming spires.
84 Charing Cross Road American bluestocking corresponds with London bookseller.
The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) Only a small part of this suspenseful film takes place in England, but it is key to the plot..
Mr. Darcy meets Mr. Darcy. Gardening Movies
England is famous for its gardens. These delightful movies feature gardening themes.
Saving Grace A suddenly widowed middle-aged woman turns to an unorthodox garden crop to save her home. Magnificent Cornwall scenery.
Greenfingers Prisoners take up gardening, seek place in Chelsea garden show. A bit of vulgarity, but overall a charming and entertaining film.
The Secret Garden Classic tale, filmed on location in England (with a tiny appearance by Colin Firth).
Eclectic Movies
None of these movies were great box office hits. But Anglophiles will love their very English characters, stories, and settings.
Sliding Doors The tube (London Underground) is the source of life choices.
Truly Madly Deeply Despite its fantastical plot, this movie conveys an authentic view of London life for its characters.
Blow Dry Not as frothy as its cover photo or hairdressing plot would have you think.
Crush Amazing Cotswold scenery - the next best thing to being there. (The sex scenes do make this a film for grownups.)
Maybe Baby Based on Ben Elton's book Inconceivable, and directed by Elton, this movie has some crude moments but also great London locations.
Sweet Revenge From the Tower Bridge to a country house and estate, Helena Bonham Carter is trouble, trouble, trouble.
Fever Pitch Another filmed version of a Nick Hornby novel, this one starring that other shaggable Englishman, Colin Firth. (However, I must admit, as movies go, I prefer the American adaption of this movie, Fever Pitch (Widescreen Edition), starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon and changing the sports venue from English football to American baseball).
Relative Values A delightful drawing room comedy of manners (both good and bad!). (Did I mention Colin Firth was in this film?)
The Matchmaker Take a trip over the Irish Sea to Ireland.
Calendar Girls The women of Napeley, Yorkshire, take on a daring fundraiser project that leads to success and notoriety beyond their wildest dreams. This delightful film, based on a true story, features spectacular Yorkshire scenery - and some nice views of the countryside as well.
Wimbledon
Charming romantic tale of courtship on the courts of Wimbledon. (Plus a side trip to Brighton!)Match Point Woody Allen's suspense tale takes you from the London streets to English country estates, and offers some fine scenery (including its handsome young stars).
The Holiday An Anglophile's dream, a stay in the perfect English cottage, with yummy Jude Law as a neighbor.
Family Fun
A taste of England for young and old.
What a Girl Wants (Widescreen Edition) Fun London scenes, and Colin Firth - we like him, just as he is.
Three Men and a Little Lady Sweet movie, and a hilarious scene with Tom Selleck barreling through the English countryside in a mini, with the fabulous English actress Fiona Shaw.
Winning London Yes, Mary Kate and Ashley; but it plays like a London travelogue with a cute plot.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 1) You can go to England and see King's Cross Station, but I'm afraid you can only go to Hogswarts in your imagination (although it was filmed in Gloucester Cathedral). Since this movie, several other Harry Potter books have been filmed, including Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 2), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Full Screen Edition) (Harry Potter 3), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Widescreen Edition) (Harry Potter 4).
Peter Pan (Special Edition) What other animated film begins in Bloomsbury? Be sure to see the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens on your next trip to London. (And while you're in Kensington Gardens, I recommend tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace.)
Movie Classics
Favorites from the golden age of cinema.
Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection
A chance meeting in a railway station leads to romance, set to the achingly beautiful music of Rachmaninoff.
Waterloo Bridge (1940) Tragic romance in post-World War II London.
Mrs. Miniver Classic tale of World War II Britain.
Random Harvest Another great romance, this time set in post-World War I England.
Reluctant Debutante A frothy delight. Amazingly, Trafalgar Square in 1958 looks exactly as it does today! Of interesting note, Colin Firth's charmer What a Girl Wants (Widescreen Edition) was based on this film.
Royalty
Many movies have portrayed the lives of English kings and queens, but this 2006 film is surely the greatest.
The Queen Helen Mirren's spot-on portrayal of Elizabeth II won her a well-deserved Academy Award, and deftly tells the story of moment of crisis for the Queen and England.Elizabeth I Before The Queen (about 400 years before), there was the first Queen Elizabeth, depicted by Helen Mirren in an HBO mini-series.
Elizabeth Here Cate Blanchett portrays the Virgin Queen.
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